Nine Tail Terror
by meloyelo
Summary: A chance encounter with Orochimaru is followed by utter disaster, including the release of the nine tail fox demon! Will Naruto be able to control this massive amount of power, or will death's firm grip take hold?


"Hey Sakura!" Naruto anxiously called. "Saaakuraaa!" In response, a loud sob was emitted from a tall fir tree. He looked up, and with a mighty heave, leaped to the tallest stable branch. He perched himself next to Sakura and asked her, "What's wrong?"

"You know perfectly well what is wrong!" she screamed ferociously.

"Sakura, it wasn't your fault what happened to Sasuke. He probably just needed some alone time," Naruto replied.

"You don't understand, do you?" Sakura murmured. Naruto blinked in surprise.

"Understand what?" he demanded.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but in the Forest of Death, Orochimaru put a curse on Sasuke and told me he would be forced to seek him out. Orochimaru has Sasuke!"

Naruto sat in a stunned silence.

"You won't have to look very far," a cold voice hissed.

"Orochimaru," Sakura breathed.

"Grab the girl. I will get the scamp," Orochimaru instructed a shrouded figure who suddenly stepped out of the shadows. It was Sasuke.

"Sasuke, you can't do this!" Sakura screamed hysterically. Without thinking, Naruto hauled Sakura on to his back and leaped to the next tree. Before he landed on the branch, a thick, slimy tongue curled around his torso and tugged him to the ground. Sakura leaped off his back just before he landed with a sickening thud. Sakura's cries were muffled when the possessed Sasuke clapped a hand over her mouth and held a kunai knife to her throat. The last thing Naruto remembered was Orochimaru gliding over to him and sinking his venomous fangs into his bare neck.

Naruto woke in the underground system which he immediately recognized. This was where the nine tailed fox was sealed away. Without his consent, his body walked toward the loud rumbling of the enormous demon.

"Show me the way," a familiar voice demanded in his head.

"Get out of my head Orochimaru!" Naruto yelled. A wheezing cough that faintly resembled a mocking laugh reverberated in his mind.

"If you dare attempt to escape, I will give the order to kill your dear friend. Now, take me to the fox."

For the sake of Sakura, Naruto sloshed through the knee high water. He rounded a corner and came to the massive golden gates where his inner demon loomed.

"Child, you dare call upon me again?" the fox hissed through his cage. The words came out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"Demon fox. I have come to release you from your prison. As long as you will do my bidding." The fox considered this carefully, his nine tails lashing out at anything within reach.

"I suppose. But you must lend me a body through which I can escape."

"You may use mine."

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"But, you must lend me a portion of your chakra and your agility."

"A fair trade. Now, release me!"

Naruto scampered up the bars of the gates and forced all his chakra into the seal planted in front of him. An explosion of light erupted in front of his eyes, and he tumbled into the real world.

Once again, Naruto found himself lying flat on the ground, completely drained of his chakra. Orochimaru stalked toward him, and he sensed the chakra of the nine tailed fox. Suddenly, with an anguished cry, Naruto felt himself being consumed by the demon. His eyes turned to slits, fangs became much more prominent, and his entire being became that of the demon fox. He still felt a small part of himself, but the desire to kill entered his mind. His body was no longer his own, he had almost completely become the nine-tailed fox.

"Why am I not completely free? Whose doing is this?" asked the fox.

At this simple question, Orochimaru roared with laughter.

"Why, you are a part of the child now. You exist within each other. Now let us wreak havoc, my pet!"

"Ha ha ha! You fool! No mortal can TAME me!" The fox whipped at Orochimaru, sending him crashing into a tree. Sasuke suddenly released Sakura, no longer under the power of the curse, and leapt into action. Instead of bounding toward his master, Sasuke slashed at the fox, making a deep gash in his fur. He expected the fox to cry out, but the voice of Naruto came from the creature's mouth, screaming in pain. For a moment, Naruto had overcome the fox, and the tails rapidly began to fold inside him, but they sprung out again as the fox conquered Naruto's brief moment of consciousness.

"Sasuke! You can't do anything for Naruto; he has to figure it out for himself!" Sakura warned Sasuke.

"But Naruto can take over once I hurt the fox!" Sasuke answered.

"No! If you hurt the fox it hurts Naruto!"

"Then maybe I should kill it!"

"Don't be stupid! You'll kill Naruto! You know that!"

"I have to do something!" Saying this, Sasuke leaped with incredible speed toward the fox. It was faster and leapt out of the way, but Sasuke nicked the creature allowing Naruto to gain control.

"Naruto! Use your chakra to push the fox back inside yourself! Sasuke will try to hold it back as long as he can!" With every wound Sasuke inflicted, another healed.

"I can't do this much longer!" Sasuke shouted. The fox was diminishing in appearance.

"You can't even attempt to hurt me!" The fox shouted, its whiskers bristling.

"Just a little more time!" Naruto cried. The whiskers disappeared, followed by the pointed ears.

"AAAAHHH!!" Naruto screamed.

"Something is really wrong!" Sasuke cautioned. The fur of the considerably smaller fox was turning an in inky black. Sasuke fell next to Sakura, black marks of the curse spreading around his body.

"Sakura! Run as far and as fast as you can! Orochimaru will make me hurt you!" Sasuke said through clenched teeth.

"I'm not leaving you! I'll help you fight it!" Upon saying this, Sakura transferred her chakra into Sasuke, giving him the energy he needed without summoning the curse.

"The fox is using the curse to leech the life out of Naruto until he can't fight anymore," Sasuke whispered.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Sakura screamed. The words echoed in Naruto's head, provoking him to call on the last ounce of chakra within himself. He manipulated it, bending it to his will. All time stopped. Sasuke was curled on the ground, Sakura leaning down, supplying him with chakra, Orochimaru stealthily creeping toward Sakura, kunai knife held high in mid-plunge. Amid all this Naruto expanded the chakra to a thin layer, enveloping the demon. It squeezed until the fox imploded, the scattering dust being sucked into Naruto. Time crept along, going faster each moment. Naruto began suffering from violent tremors as a blade entered, pricking Sakura's heart. An evil grin spread in slow motion across Orochimaru's face. Naruto crawled laboriously toward Sakura, then pulled her body out from under the knife and placed her next to Sasuke. Before he knew it, time jumpstarted, and Orochimaru's blade bit into Naruto's pumping heart. A look of confusion crossed his face, which turned to sheer horror as he realized he just lost his most powerful weapon. Instant death.

Naruto solemnly walked amid the trees in a meadow wearing a light tunic and loose capris. His feet were bare, but they did not get dirty, even in the soil. He approached the elaborate gates as he had done twice before. Instead of the fear that always nagged at his mind, a peaceful calm drifted over him.

"Demon fox. I call upon you once more. Lend me all your chakra, for you now have an alternative energy. You do this, we live on. If you refuse, we will both fall into eternal slumber. Make your decision." The fox eyed him curiously, and, without a word, sent channels of chakra flooding into Naruto's veins. The fox's fur turned ebony as the curse took hold of him.

"I have made my decision. Do with me what you will."

Naruto suddenly awoke with a start, finding himself in the Konoha hospital. He gasped for air, indulging in the sweet feel of life once more. A nurse dashed into the room and stared at him in shock.

"What?" he asked politely.

"Y-you have just been stabbed in the heart, and yet you live! How?"

"I am more powerful than you will ever know. You are looking at the fifth hokage!"

Sasuke peeked in the doorway and gasped. "Look in the mirror, Naruto." Naruto grabbed a small mirror off the table next to him. To his surprise, he had gone through a number of changes. The marks on his face were much thicker, actually resembling whiskers. His pupils were permanent slits, his ears slightly pointed. He opened his mouth and noticed large fangs protruding from his upper jaw.

"What the—" he shouted. With hardly any effort at all on his part, Naruto threw the mirror at the far wall, shattering the window and impaling the nearest unlucky bush. He uttered a vehement cry of dismay.

"That damn fox," Naruto huffed silently. "How is Sakura?" he asked Sasuke.

"Oh, she's sleeping right now. She was bleeding pretty bad. How did you do that anyway?"

"Why don't we talk about it over some ramen?"

"Typical," Sasuke muttered.


End file.
